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Letter to editor: U.S. trails world on health care

Is it time to consider single payer health care? Consider the following:

I. The United States ranks last among industrialized nations in quality of health care:

1. United Kingdom

2. Switzerland

3. Sweden

4. Australia

5. Germany and Netherlands (tie)

7. New Zealand and Norway (tie)

9. France

10. Canada

11. United States

Ranked by the Commonwealth Fund

II. Cost of care: The United States spends more on health care per person than do most countries with free, universal care. Government spending on health per capita is greater than in all other industrialized countries, except Norway and the Netherlands, according to a recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report.

III. Life expectancy: Life expectancy at birth is lower here than other industrialized countries. The life-expectancy gap between the U.S. and other countries narrows somewhat as our population ages. We rank 26th among OECD countries with an average life expectancy of 79 years. Japan leads at 84 years.

These are just three examples of how the United States, the world’s richest country, stands out from the rest of the developed world.

Most Americans get insurance through employers, Medicaid or Medicare. They have low deductibles and copays, therefore have little sympathy for those who must purchase insurance individually. Roughly 10 percent of Americans are in the individual health insurance market. They are the ones who feel the brunt of this system.

The market system does not work in health insurance. Drug companies can charge whatever for their products. Hospitals can charge whatever for their services. Insurance companies can maneuver to maximize the amount of money they keep for executives by manipulating cost and expenses. In a real free market, customers have a choice to accept a product at a certain price, shop around or altogether not purchase it. Therefore, a society should not leave health care to the free market. It is fiscally irresponsible.

America’s health care reality is in turmoil. Obamacare in many areas is in trouble. The prices are excessive for many. The new rates coming out in October will price many out of health insurance. Threatened sabotage by the Trump administration would be a problem. However defects in Obamacare, where the free market reigns, is a major problem. The Republican plan which would have removed millions from the rolls in order to give tax breaks to the wealthy was unconscionable.

Obamacare was a stop-gap solution to single-payer Medicare for all. For those who decry this as socialized medicine must realize that the current turmoil leaves us in a mess where the vast majority of our health care dollars end up in the pockets of the few and not to make America healthy.